Kim Glisson of the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce, Andrew Damstadt of the Ketchikan Daily News and Gary Kreitag of the University of Alaska Faribanks tour the control room of Holland American's Statendam
:: Soaring fuel costs force cruise lines to slow down, reduce some port times
Alaska Cruise Association's president told a Ketchikan group that cruise ship port times could be reduced dramatically in the next few years because of tighter regulations, world marketplace competition and rising energy costs.
Fuel costs are starting to play a bigger role in itineraries, ACA president John Binkley told Ketchikan?s Downtown Steering Committee. He also said geography and cruise ship operations are affecting Ketchikan's port times, and, "It may get worse rather than get better."
Susan Peters, Downtown Steering Committee chair, said the group would like to see cruise ships stay longer in Ketchikan. Ketchikan lags behind Juneau and Skagway for total port hours...
Cruise industry supports 3,000 jobs in Southcentral Alaska and adds $102 million to Anchorage economy
:: Cruise passenger industry big contributor to Anchorage
The seasonal cruise industry injected $102 million into the Anchorage economy last year, contributed $8.9 million to local government in taxes and fees and created 596 jobs in cruise line hotel and tour operations, according to a new economic impact study conducted by the McDowell Group.
Approximately 370,000 cruise passengers visited Anchorage in 2007. Visitors to Anchorage fall into one of several travel patterns: pre- or post-cruise land tour guests; travelers visiting independently before or after a cruise; and those traveling on their way between the airport and their cruise ship port of Whittier or Seward. A train station was recently added to the...
:: EPA vessel to study impact of cruise ship-processed wastewater
A team of researchers aboard the 224-foot survey vessel Bold is using its monitoring and assessment equipment to study the potential impact of cruise ships on Alaska's waters.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partnering with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to study the characteristics and behavior of treated wastewater discharged from stationary large cruise ships. The study will be conducted in Skagway Harbor. DEC's cruise ship program manager Denise Koch says Skagway was...
Members of the Seward Chamber of Commerce learn about the safety and sanitation policies aboard Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas
:: Alaska provides warm reception for Tahitian Princess
Alaska's ports welcomed the Tahitian Princess on its inaugural visit this summer with fanfare, including a water show in Valdez. The Tahitian Princess, one...
Louis Benecardino, manager of the Alaska Railroad Dock, received the ship's crest from Capt. Carlo Servillo during the Tahitian Princess' inagural visit to Seward'
:: HAL promotes 2009 Alaska tours
Holland America Line is promoting 29 cruise-tours in Alaska during 2009, the state's 50th anniversary.
The offerings combine an Inside Passage sailing with a land program for a package of 10 to 20 days. Land travel is aboard domed McKinley Explorer rail cars,...
:: State monitors cruise ship emissions
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation regularly monitors smoke from cruise ship and ferry stacks through our commercial passenger vessel environmental compliance program. Since the summer...
Crew from Holland America's Statendam teamed up with Allen Marine to clean the Black Sands Beach of Ketchikan. The teams removed about 600 pounds of debris from the beach.